The Wall › Panel 39E › Louisiana › Michael Francis Austin
MICHAEL FRANCIS AUSTIN
Corporal · U.S. Army
May 31, 1948 – February 18, 1968
Service recordMichael Francis Austin, of Crowley, Louisiana, served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army. He died on February 18, 1968, in Vinh Long Province, South Vietnam, at age 19. His name is inscribed on Panel 39E, Line 79 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 39E · Line 79
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Corporal (CPL)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Tactical Wire Operations Specialist (36K)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- May 31, 1948
- Home of record
- Crowley, Louisiana
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 18, 1968
- Age
- 19
- Province
- Vinh Long
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Artillery/Mortar/Rocket
Context · from the records
What was happening
85 names on the Wall carry the date February 18, 1968; two of them were lost in Vinh Long Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 61 of its members that month.
He died in Vinh Long Province while the Tet Offensive was under way. Beginning on the night of 30–31 January 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces attacked more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. February 1968 was the deadliest month of the war for Americans.
Also on Panel 39E, Line 79
- JERRY DEAN ADAMSFirst Lieutenant · February 18, 1968
- JOSEPH CARLISLE ANDREWPrivate First Class · February 18, 1968
- BRIAN WILLIAM BATESPrivate First Class · February 18, 1968
- ROY VERNON BERRY JRCorporal · February 18, 1968
Same unit, same day
- JERRY DEAN ADAMSFirst Lieutenant · Panel 39E, Line 79
- JAMES DALE DOUGLASSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 4
- DONALD THOMAS EWALTSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 4
- MICHAEL L KOSKOVICHWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 40E, Line 8
- LEONARD MORRIS PHIPPSSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 11
- CHARLES BURTON POOLEPrivate First Class · Panel 40E, Line 12
- GARRY DAYMON SHEPPARDWarrant Officer 1 · Panel 40E, Line 13
From Crowley
- JOSEPH WAYNE HARRISONPrivate First Class · November 26, 1966
- WILLIAM C QUEBODEAUX JRPrivate First Class · February 3, 1968
- HORACE JOSEPH LEJEUNE JRPrivate First Class · September 4, 1968
- MICHAEL L THIBODEAUXSergeant · July 19, 1970
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.